There’s a little bit of conflict this morning as to the validity of the source, but seemingly according to a (private?) Tweet from the official Sony PlayStation Twitter account, the PS3’s current web browser is going to get a “big upgrade” soon.
The news comes via NeoGAF, the forum carrying screengrabs from Twitterific running on an iPhone. I’ve not personally used that App, but according to posters at the source blue backgrounds signify private messages, suggesting it was send as a DM to the user, Simmo2K.
Indeed, there’s no such public Tweet from the official PlayStation account.
Regardless, if the screengrab is real (the appropriate section of the grab is duplicated below) then it looks like we might be seeing something powered by Google Chrome. Personally, I’d have prefered a Firefox based browser, but an upgrade is an upgrade.
It wouldn’t be too much of a leap to expect Move support, too.
Amphlett
Sony and Google – I just did a ‘happy wee’.
STILLCANTTHINKOFAGOODPSNNAME
ABOUT FUCKING TIME!!!!!! *grumbles incoherent vile*
cc_star
The limited memory footprint of the PS3 will mean you’re never going to get performance approaching that of even a 5 year old laptop, however the Netfront browser is beyond useless & is massively in need of being replaced.
Odd That Sony dom’t allow the Minis format to be used forApps because this would getaround the limitations of a restricted browsers, amd make some money in the equation too.
Makes sense to go with Chrome, its becoming the browser of choice for nearly all tech based people now according to the traffic on tech sites like w3schools.
I’ve used Firefox since 0.9 but Chrome & its extensions are jnow a lot more usable, faster and more elegant even compared to Firefox’s latest resource hog, FF4 beta.
What would be interestingis whether a Chrome browser on the PS3 would have the latest feature in the Chrome Dev channel, WebApps.
If so, it may kill the Minis platform
Elliot
Chrome, please. With all its crashing faults, it’s a beautifully simple and functional browser. And I’m not holding my breath for add-on compatibility if Firefox comes our way. Yeah. Chrome has my vote. Google just wins, generally. Hell, I’m even going to give their social networking site a go when it is unveiled. Google fanboy.
And I don’t know what the huge gripe was with Youtube XL. I always found it usable.
daveydaver34
I’ve never used google chrome so I can’t comment on that really, although personally I’ve never noticed any significant difference between explorer and firefox to justify a preference. As for the PS3 browser, it has it’s flaws but it’s not as bad as people say it is.
tonycawley
Can you justify that comment Please? Doesn’t your browser regularly crash your system? How about cookies? Do they work (i’ve heard they’ve been fixed but haven’t checked that out). How about the flash player? Does that play all the flash content? Does it run out of internal memory far too easily with multiple pages open? Surely these factors make it pretty poor, how can anyone say it isn’t?
Mason_Mk
I have to agree with you there.
Sure, the browser has its flaws, but it’s still usuable enough that i use it for the majority of my web browsing. It loads up webpages, it has quick and easy zooming and scrolling methods, it loads up most flash things i use (video streams, flash sites etc.) and (DID) stream tv to me via tvcatchup too.
The only complaints i have is the occasional crashing when sites get hectic, and that some video streams no longer work. It’s good enough to moderate a website, check the news on here and ps blog, and talk to friends on facebook/twitter, so there’s nothing else really that i need from it.
bunimomike
Firefox is now my preferred browser but bugger-me-running, it uses some serious memory up! Chrome all the way, when it comes to the PS3.
Raen
That’s my main issue with Firefox, particularly as I tend to sleep my laptop rather than power it down. That means I live apps open for days or weeks at a time, and Firefox just leaks memory like a son-of-a-bitch. TweetDeck (more specifically Adobe AIR) has the same problem.
bunimomike
I was gobsmacked at first. I remember running a few tabs, diving into Task Manager and seeing a quarter of a gig being used. Double-You, Tee, Eff!!
Raen
Mine currently has two tabs open (granted one is a very memory intensive web app. The other is a google docs spreadsheet) and is using 183MB. It just gets crazy
Danza Di Fuoco
They have too its ridiculous how a low end console could be more reliable.
DrNate86
Well all this has convinced me to give chrome a try!
Dward
Opera, with working Opera Sync. The Speed Dial is perfect for consoles…
KeRaSh
That’s what I was thinking. I only use Opera at home and on my HTC Desire and I never had any problems. But still, due to memory limitations Chrome would be a much better choice than Firefox.
However, just because the guy from the tweet uses Chrome does not mean that the PS3 is getting it. My guess would be that they use it’s engine and build something custom to fit the PS3.
Raen
Using WebKit is the most logical choice. It has a small memory footprint (it’s used by Palm, Android and Apple on phones) and is up to date with the latest web standards.
MrTwP
I’d preffer google chrome, is it only me who experienced problems? You can’t open another fire fox window while one isn’t responding? The message came up while fire fox wasn’t even open. I’ve experienced no problems with google chrome, although I do miss my cute lil fox running while it’s loading…